Louise Breuer, Mortimer Market Centre, London, United Kingdom Chris Barker*, UCL, London, United Kingdom Track: Research Presentation Topic: Building virtual communities and social networking applications for patients and consumers Presentation Type: Rapid-Fire Presentation Submission Type: Single Presentation Building: Mermaid Room: Room 3 - Upper River Room Date: 2013-09-23 11:45 AM – 01:00 PM Last modified: 2013-09-25

If you are the presenter of this abstract (or if you cite this abstract in a talk or on a poster), please show the QR code in your slide or poster (QR code contains this URL).

Objectives. This study explored the experiences of UK National Health Service patients with depression who were offered facilitated access to an online peer-to-peer support group. In particular, it examined the benefits which people can derive from using an online support group for depression and the barriers which prevent people from engaging with such a group, in order to inform the development of future interventions.

Method. Fifteen participants experiencing depression who had not used online support groups for depression previously were offered facilitated access to an existing online support group over a period of 10 weeks. The sample was diverse in terms of ethnicity but most had high levels of educational achievement. At the end of the study period, a subgroup of nine participants was interviewed about their experiences of using the group. Thematic analysis was conducted on the transcripts. Pre- and post-measures of level of depression, perceived social support and perceived self-stigma were taken, in addition to a weekly measure of support group usage.

Results. Reductions in depression and perceived self-stigma were found over the ten-week period. There was no change in perceived social support. Overall, there were low levels of engagement with the online support group. Perceived benefits of participation in the group included a sense of connection to others, the normalisation of depression and the reduction of stigma. Barriers to participation included concerns over causing harm to others or being harmed oneself, feeling very different from the other people in the group, fears of being identified and judged by others and difficulties with expressing oneself online.

Conclusions: Online support groups may potentially reduce depressive symptoms and perceived self-stigma. However, considerable barriers prevent people with depression from engaging more fully with such an intervention. Further work is required to determine the characteristics of those who most benefit from such support, and to develop interventions which help overcome the aforementioned barriers.